Reece Boal’s World Championship venture comes to an end

Reece Boal has been in the motocross scene for nearly seven years, starting in the British paddock with MBO Yamaha before making the move to the World Championship paddock. Boal had the opportunity to work for STR KTM, the Monster Kawasaki MX2 outfit and 114 Motorsports Honda.

During his time in the motocross scene he’s worked with names that include Kristian Whatley, Adam Sterry, Dylan Ferrandis and Hunter Lawrence just to name a few – not a bad CV!

Boal has now made the decision that it’s the right time to leave the World Championship paddock and return home.

We caught up with Boal to discuss the reason’s for making the return home.

What’s the decision behind leaving the GP paddock?

Reece Boal: To be honest, it was quite an easy one. I’ve been in the motocross scene now for nearly seven years. I’ve been away from home and my family with very little of a social life. On the outside looking in, I am sure people will say I’m mad but they don’t see the endless hours, the late nights and the 15 hour drives in the van.

The team I was with this year was a little better with getting time off than most others but you still on average only got around 3-4 days a month. When you have 3-4 weekends in a row you don’t get a day off with a lot of late nights in the process.

Also, the longer I am away from home, the further away I am from having a life at home and having a house. I don’t want to to a forty year old in the paddock, single and have no house!

The season didn’t go to plan with Hunter (Lawrence) getting injured and that made my decision even easier. I had one goal this year and that was to win the MX2 World Championship. Really in my eyes our season failed.

In all my years at the World Championship I have never finished one without one of my riders getting injured. At one point we were only six points behind behind the championship lead so all these small points made my decision quite easy in the end.

You worked with Hunter at Kawasaki and Honda so clearly you both got on well. How was he to work for and how was he different to other riders you’ve worked with?

Reece Boal: My relationship with Hunter was fantastic. Not only was he my rider but he’s also a very good friend. With Hunter, I never needed to question anything he done away from the track. I knew he was training properly and eating the correct food.

He’s also quite similar to myself and only wants one thing and that is of course to be number one. We also had a lot of fun and constantly laughing and taking the piss out of each other. But when it was time to race we were serious. Knowing what the family have sacrificed you have to have a lot of respect for that.

What was Livia Lancelot like to work for? You must also appreciate her giving you a job with Hunter for 2018!

Reece Boal: Personally for me, working with Livia and the 114 Motorsports team was good. Livia is like one of the boys and is down for a laugh. Also, I think for a new team to be on the podium three times more than some factory teams speaks for itself. So, for her I have to say that the year was a success.

Of course, I am very thankful for her to give me the opportunity to work for Hunter this past season. I had a lot of really good times this year, not just with her but with the team of guys, they are all really good people and some of the best in the paddock. I would like to thank everyone there for making my life really easy and enjoyable.

Did you have any other offers from teams/riders for 2019?

Reece Boal: I was approached by both riders and teams for next year. The teams that had spoken to me were – my current team, 114 Motorsports Honda, Factory HRC Honda and Geico Honda.

I was asked by riders too but I don’t want to mention their names as it could cause friction between them and their current mechanics.

As of right now what are your plans now the season is over?

Reece Boal: I will be in France until the end of October. After that I will go on holidays with the other half. I will be starting work at home here in Northern Ireland after that and honestly I don’t know what the future holds. All I know is that is a return to Europe is slim but USA, that’s got me thinking!